This Shrewdness episode features an in-depth Kansas City Royals season preview, discussing team composition, key players, pitching staff, and prospects. It offers valuable insights for baseball fans and Royals supporters eager to understand the team's outlook and potential for the upcoming season.
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Hey, shrewdness fans, welcome to the Shrewdness Podcast.
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I'm Prue, Dex and Chiz here with us.
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We have another great episode planned this week.
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We're going to go into a Royals preview.
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Our favorite team, Royals started out O2, but they've won
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the last two. Things are trending there,
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trending the right direction. So want to look at their team
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and highlight what we're excited to watch for this season and
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what some of their keys to victory are or keys to the
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postseason. So I'm going to throw it over to
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Chiz. For those of you who are
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Missouri sports fans like we are, we grew up Royals fans and
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we want to, we wanted to give a little Royals preview.
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So last year we did some in depth dig on every team, which
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was quite insane but quite fun. And this year we wanted to just
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at least do that for the Royals and talk about kind of where we
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are going into the season, what the hopes are, talk about the
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positions, where our strengths are, where, where are we going
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to start. So we're going to dive into that
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right now. You don't like the Royals, you
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can stop and we'll see you next week.
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But if you don't, or if you don't, be a grown up and like,
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learn to like the Royals because you should.
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So listen to the preview. And send it to a friend that
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loves the Royals, which is probably more people than you
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think. Absolutely, absolutely.
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So we want to dive into the Royals.
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So I'll start out by, you know, we're four games and Royals are
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two and two want to give you a little bit of breakdown into how
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the Royals were created their forty man roster. 18 of them are
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homegrown via the draft and or free agent signings or signings,
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international signings, 7 from free agents, 15 from trades, so
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0 or on the 40 man rosters from waivers or rule 5.
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So this is a pretty much homegrown team where they made
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trades to get these guys. The strength of the team is
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definitely in starting pitching. So let's start there.
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So let's look at the starting. I'll throw out the the starting
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five get you guys as thoughts on them.
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Little preview here. Cole Reagan's is starting
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pitcher, 1 lefty, 28 years old. He has been in the majors for
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three years. Got him from the Rangers a
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couple years ago on a trade. A really good trade.
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Really good trade for Aroldis Chapman I believe.
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He's still good somehow. He's still good.
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Cole's going to start. Second pitcher is Michael Waka,
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34 year old. He'll be 35 this season.
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Free agent that the Royals got from the Padres originally the
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Cardinals originally a. First round pick.
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For the Cardinals, Reagans was a first round pick for the
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Rangers. So you got two first round picks
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right there. Then the third slot.
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Seth Lugo, a free agent pitcher. He is 30.
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Seth. Lugo or Sai Lugo?
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Sai Lugo Sai Lugo who had who had a really good start too to
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start out the season. He is they got as a free agent a
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couple years ago. Metropolitans.
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And from the Mets he is. He was a 34th round pick.
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So he is the one oddity in this group because you go to the 4th
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starter, Chris Bubich, the Croatian sensation lefty, 28
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years old. And he was a first round pick as
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well. So three of their first four
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were first round picks. Two lefties from the braids,
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right? Is that the?
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Righties. No, the Royals drafted him
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straight up. So he's he's a homegrown dude.
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That's. Right.
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Yeah, I was thinking again last year.
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First round and then the 5th starter was quite heavily
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contested and we'll talk about the depth that they have here
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after we get through these five. But Noah Cameron, so they've got
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3 lefties. Noah Cameron's 26 years old, so
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3 lefties in that starting five. You got two older guys and Waka
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and Lugo. Nice balance, 3 younger guys in
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their late 20s. How do we feel about this this
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starting five guys? I think it's solid all the way
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through. I mean, the fact is we had high
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hopes on Boobitch and he's our four and when you have top four
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that y'all feel like could be a, they could all be top twos on
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most teams other than the best of the best Staffs.
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Chris Boobitch could be the top two or three starter and he's 4
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on our team. Noah Camera could be among the
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top three or four on almost every team and he's battling to
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remain our fifth starter. And he showed a lot last year.
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So he's a homegrown Kansas City kid I believe, right?
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Just up the road. Was he Liberty or Spinner?
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But no, Cameron showed enough. It is weird we got 3 lefties
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though. But I don't know, I guess it
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kind of takes away a lot of these lineups if you're
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left-handed stack and that's all your best guys.
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It makes people tune all your other dudes out or just suffer
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the consequences of the lefty lefty matchup.
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So I like their staff. I do think they're one of the
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more competitive Staffs, which is one reason I think we all
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like the the Royals to win the division this year.
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We think they have the best pitching like top to bottom.
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So that's that's exactly kind of what I think on this.
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So any concern, Pruitt, I'm going to throw this to you.
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Any concern Reagan's, you know, is a guy who is talked about a
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lot as Cy Young potential as A1 starter.
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He's had a couple really good years.
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He's had some injury issues. His first start this year
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though, he gave up I think three home runs.
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So had a two or three home runs in that game.
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He definitely had a propensity give up the long ball.
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Any concern he didn't have a great spring either.
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Any concern with the Reagan's or do you think he works this out
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and gets back to old form? I, I think he's still OK.
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A lot of power pitchers don't start quick.
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They take a little bit longer chilling and Clemens and guys
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like that in the past took a few starts before they really locked
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in and, and and started dominating.
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So he can still get there. I, I'm always a little bit
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worried about Reagan's and his injury propensity.
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So he may start 30 games this year and be just fine.
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He may struggle for three starts and then dominate for two and
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hurt himself and be out for two months.
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It's hard to tell. So I never, I never like put too
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much faith in him because I don't have to, right?
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I like, I really like our balance, our depth and the, and
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let the balance that you alluded to chose.
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We got a few young guys, but we've also got some veteran guys
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that can lock that staff down and and on any given day any one
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of them can go out and throw a quality start and give you a
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chance to win so. Yep.
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That's right, I can't complain about our staff.
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I think that is by far the strong suit.
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I agree. I, I think Bubich is going to
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have a breakout year. I, I think they're going to be,
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they're going to be stuck in a conundrum with him because if,
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if it gets to trade deadline time and it's borderline, he is
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going to be a hot commodity. I think this is his last year
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under contract fund, correct? And if that's the case, they're
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going to have to pay a lot of money for a quality lefty
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starter or trade him at the deadline.
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And if it's going to, it's going to depend on how the first half
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goes, right? I don't think we're going to be
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in a position where we're going to want to trade Chris Boobitch,
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though. I don't.
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Either given this division and given again, the when we get to
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the lineup too, I think we're going to be in a lot of games.
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The pitching is going to keep us there and the hitters are going
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to get us over the hump in many of these games.
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So I don't know if that's going to be a valid concern, but I
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hear you. He's going to have a lot of
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value and when the offers come in, you're like, oh man, that is
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a lot. Well, it's especially when you
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look at the depth. So this is something we have not
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had the benefit of in some years, but if you look at the
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depth that the Royals have. So I want to throw out a couple
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names that were vying for that five spot and get your reaction.
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Bailey Falter, a guy we got in a trade with Pittsburgh last year
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mid season, a lot of talent. Another lefty, incidentally, a
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guy named Steven Kollek, we got in a trade in July of last year
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as well with the Padres. He originally was a Dodger.
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He is a 28 year old kind of in his prime.
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Alec Marsh, You remember Alec Marsh making several starts for
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us. He was drafted in the second
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round by the Royals in 19. So he's a homegrown kid.
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He is. He's going to be out the first
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couple months of the season, but he should be returning.
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And then there's some young, well, here's another one we got
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in a trade as well in July of last year with the Padres, Ryan
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Burgert. Ryan Burgert is a 26 year old
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guy, highly recruited, highly drafted prospect as well.
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They thought a lot of him and never really panned out.
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He's a righty. And then I'll lift a couple
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other guys that are homegrown for us.
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Luinder Avila, who came up last year and had a really good
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showing in September, really good, a lot better than some
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people said, hey, this guy should be a shoe in for the
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starting 5 next year, but he's not.
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And then Ben Kaderna, which I always say, say Ron, he's
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KUDRNA. Can I buy a vowel, please?
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My favorite. He was a second round pick for
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the Royals. So if you look at that depth,
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there's a lot of starters there. There's a lot of starters and a
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lot of guys who, not saying these guys are three starters,
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but you lot of got a lot of guys who are four or five starters
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probably for a lot of people. And so it, it should bode well
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if and when I should say when the injury bug comes because
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starting pitching tends to, that's just how it goes, right?
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I got it. I got it too.
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So what do you guys think about the depth that they've got
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there? And the depth is something
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that's commendable because you're right, a lot of teams
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would be envious of that. And Bailey Poulter, he's a
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legitimate starter. I mean, for Pittsburgh, he was
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in their rotation. And sure, we got him in a trade,
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but that was someone. It's only because Pittsburgh got
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more arms coming. So all of their top prospects
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are all more pitchers with higher upsides.
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So Pittsburgh has had enough pitchers.
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It was excess for them. And so getting that, some of the
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other guys we have, I think they're they are back of the
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rotation pictures or kind of bullpen arms.
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But some of these bullpen arms we've seen can turn into really,
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really good. Luke O'shaver.
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I mean, some of these guys that were kind of flopperooski
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pitchers turn into studs in the bullpen.
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So that could easily be some of these guys because they got the
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pedigree and they've got stuff. There's a reason they're there.
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But we might end up having more bullpen arms out of the deal,
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which is fine. I think Alec Marsh will for sure
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be bullpen when he comes back. Just not gonna be enough time to
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stretch them out. But why?
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Why run it when you don't need them?
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So I think he'd be vying for something next year, but not
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this year. So I kind of like it.
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Prue, what do you think? Yeah, there's a lot of the guys
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are still young enough, they're kind of untested, right?
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So some of them will, you know, kind of take off and become
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legit 3 starters in a couple years.
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Other ones may never get to be A5 starter, right.
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So that's right. That's the the price you pay
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with balancing youth and and veteran players is that you're
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still early enough in some of these guys careers.
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It's really too early to tell what they're going to turn into.
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But just having guys like that on your team and available so
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that you can go to them if and when the injury bug hits, you
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know, that's that's like you said, Dex, that's commendable
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that you're even in that position.
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A lot of teams struggle right when somebody in their starting
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five goes down, they don't have any options and they end up
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throwing out a my God, that's not really ready to start or
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hasn't ever started or whatever just to fill a spot.
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And I feel like the the Royals don't have to give in on games
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like that. They.
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Have at least got options right. The other thing it does for us
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is there's always people wanting pitching.
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So if we are in a playoff race and we need an another bat, for
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instance, you know, there's a lot of teams that are going to
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like the idea of young pitching prospects in exchange for that.
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So if you're in if we're in a position where we're in a
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playoff run and we think we need another bat to to go and get it
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for the first time in a while, we've got some collateral that
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we could actually trade with. So I think that's beneficial.
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As mentioned, Linder Avila is the #3 prospect right now in the
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system and Bid Kaderna is the #4 prospect right now in the
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system. So one And two, in case you're
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wondering #1 happens to be in the major leagues right now,
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Carter Jensen, we talked about him and we'll talk about him
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more. And then #2 is Blake Mitchell,
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another catcher who is still very young, 21 years old.
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So now let's move to the bullpen.
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Great starting pitching we've identified.
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Now this is the area that struggled a little bit more last
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year. Right now the aforementioned
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Bailey Falter is a long reliever as we are seeing how the the
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year plays out. A lefty 28 year old from
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Pittsburgh. They signed a free agent for
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middle relief from Detroit named Alex Lang.
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He's got a pretty good history. He's 30 years old.
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He's a he's a low 4 ERA guy, not a high leverage guy.
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Probably eat some innings. Not going to blow up.
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They have formally and officially moved Daniel Lynch
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the 4th to the bullpen. So he is a bullpen guy.
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Lefty, 29 years old. He was a first round pick in 18
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for the Royals, but a lefty out of the pen, which is nice.
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Nick Mears is a guy they got in a trade in the offseason with
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the Brewers. He was originally drafted by
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Pittsburgh as well. Dex, you were talking about.
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So he pitched today, did a good job.
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We've got high leverage, high leverage.
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Shriver who actually closed the game today, Yes.
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So John Shriver is back guy we got from Boston a couple years
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ago in a trade. He is a 32 year old.
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So he is the elder statesman. Well not quite, but he is one of
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the oldest guys in the in the bullpen.
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And then we got a boomerang. There's two set up guys,
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boomerang lefty Matt Strom. Matt Strom used to be a Royal
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and he showed a lot of potential and then we traded him away and
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he did quite well. He had a nice little run for
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several teams, including Philadelphia we traded with to
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get him back. So Matt Strom is back.
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He's 34 now. He's a little more journey, but
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he still throws some heat and he's a lefty.
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So he is a lefty setup guy for us.
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The righty setup guy is Lucas Erzig and I think probably for
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the time being, the de facto closer.
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I would say too. Because Erzig is a guy who has
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closed and he has some nasty stuff.
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Is is very dependable in that role. 30 year old righty that we
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got from Oakland a couple years ago and then the one that we are
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going to spend some time discussing, Carlos Estevez, 33
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year old closer we got from Philly.
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These little mixed results. You know, he he was a closer for
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the Rockies. It's tough to close in Colorado,
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but he did a pretty good job. You only get like 30 chances.
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That's right. That's right.
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You don't get a lot of chance in Colorado.
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In your career. So let's start with the
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lightning rod. Let's start with this dev is so
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it's spring training. The word was velocities down.
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And this is a guy that relies on high 90s velocity to be
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effective. He's 33 years old, so he's no
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spring chicken, but they said velocities down.
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He pitched in the World Baseball Classic, middling results,
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didn't he had, I think, you know, one outing that was pretty
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good. One outing he got roughed up a
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little bit. And then to your point, through
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Michael Walker had a phenomenal start.
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Game 2, they were winning. They did not put up runs that
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they they were winning. Two to nothing, I believe.
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Yeah, 2 to nothing going into the 9th inning.
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And boy, did the wheels come off with Carlos Estevez, who gave up
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six runs, including a walk off Grand Slam.
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And now he is hurt. So where do you guys stand with
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this Dev as is? Is this?
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Are there major red flags for you here?
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Do we feel like it's just a hey, you know, he he's made the
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statement. Hey, my velocity always takes a
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while to build up. It's it's, you know, takes a
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while through the season. It's always like this for me.
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Or do we need to say like, oh gosh, this is a problem?
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I think I felt this exact same way about him last April.
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It's still March, but yeah, when we get to April, I'm I'm pretty
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sure you had a very similar start or similar outing early
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last year. And I thought the same thing.
00:18:00
And then he went on to have like, you know, be lights out
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for the next month or something. Yeah, so it's still super
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frustrating to me because Ersig is like lights out nearly every
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every outing and it's hard to believe that that guy's not your
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closer for me anyway. But Estevez, we'll see if he
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continues to get roughed up, I think you got to go elsewhere
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after maybe 3 blown saves or something and then he's out.
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And if I'm, if I'm managing, yeah.
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I think on that line, so Ersig, I agree, I think he's our best
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reliever and probably could easily be the closer.
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But I think the Royals are going to use them and the high
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leverage situations we need need to get out of an inning.
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If that's the 6th, 7th or 8th, I think they want to use Lucas
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Herzig there to get you out of the inning and keep the game
00:18:51
there, which normally as long as you can just get to the 9th,
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it's I mean you can kind of throw anybody there.
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A lot of teams don't have designated closers anymore.
00:19:00
It's not like when we grew up and it's quiz and barrier Todd
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Burrell or Lee Smith or fill in the blank, Dennis Eckersley.
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Those guys never did an anything other than the ninth ever.
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But then as the game has changed and evolved, when it's 2 outs in
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the 7th and the best guys up with the runner on 2nd and 3rd
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and you're up one, sometimes you bring in your best guy in those
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moments. I think the Royals, yeah, they
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don't usually bring me in that early like 6th inning, but I've
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seen him in the seventh, I've seen him in the 8th and I think
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Lucas Herzig has got that role right now.
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I think while Estevez is out, why not have him be the closer
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because Matt Strom can also serve in that role, Kind of get
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people out. I like Strom a lot.
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I think he's, I was a great pickup.
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I like having him in the back in the bullpen.
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I think between him and Arsegg, 2 most trustworthy ones I would
00:19:50
go on a limb. You never have too many good
00:19:52
bullpen arms. But we'll.
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See how that plays. I think that's going to be a
00:19:56
story for the Royals is when you're pitching get you in these
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situations and your bats give you enough to be ahead.
00:20:02
It'll be really nice to be able to get those 3 outs, knee during
00:20:05
the night and close the games out.
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And like Schreiber stepped in today and so they they have some
00:20:11
options, which is nice. They do.
00:20:14
Maybe they're still. Feeling out who's going to take
00:20:16
what role. Every bullpen is kind of, you
00:20:18
know, a little bit shuffled around at the beginning of the
00:20:21
season until they kind of settle into a specific role.
00:20:25
But it makes me yearn for the yesteryear when the Royals had a
00:20:28
7th, 8th and 9th inning guy. And when you were up in the 6th,
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if you're up 3, two in the sixth, the game was over.
00:20:35
Yeah, that's right. 789 was 000. That's right.
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Sounds good. We're not going to score
00:20:40
negative runs when we bat, so we're good.
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We can't take them off the board.
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Once we're there, we're there. That was so nice. 2.
00:20:45
Straight seasons, it was just awesome having that.
00:20:49
We're not there yet. I'm hopeful someone come along
00:20:53
or maybe we can trade piece our way into a struggling team at
00:20:56
the break. Doesn't need a closer really,
00:20:59
because they've only won 25 games and maybe we can scoop one
00:21:02
of those guys at the trade deadline or some of our excess.
00:21:06
So that would be really nice to, I'm going to keep my eyes open
00:21:09
on the on the market and as we go through the season.
00:21:13
I will say I'm concerned. I'm concerned because because of
00:21:17
his age and the fact that the velocity is down and I do think
00:21:21
it will get better, but I'll be honest, I've never loved him as
00:21:24
a closer because he's a little too on the edge for me.
00:21:28
I like the guy that's going to come in.
00:21:30
I don't want any stress from my closer.
00:21:33
I love the guy. I love whenever you had quiz a
00:21:35
Berry, you know, I love it. When you had Jeff Montgomery, I
00:21:39
love, you know, like you said, the, the bullpens back in the
00:21:42
day with Holland and and Herrera and you know, those were the
00:21:46
guys that HDH does. That bullpen was was ridiculous
00:21:54
And, and I never worried. Estevez is always a little bit
00:21:57
of a roller coaster for me. He's one of those closers that
00:22:00
likes to walk the 1st 2:00 and then they're like, let's see if
00:22:02
we can, you know, get out of this, you know, so I don't love
00:22:06
that when you're throwing 93. I would, I would love to see I,
00:22:10
I agree with what you said, Dex. I think Earthsec's probably
00:22:13
going to be used in the highest leverage situation.
00:22:16
I think he's the most closer mentality.
00:22:18
I do think Strom could do it too.
00:22:19
Either of those two guys could could probably do it.
00:22:22
The rest of the bullpen I like quite a bit.
00:22:25
Schreiber is not a blow it past you guy, though.
00:22:27
He is a I'm going to throw a strike and let's see if you can
00:22:30
hit it and and that's not bad. You know, he has a sinker and so
00:22:35
that that does well. I think Daniel Lynch is going to
00:22:38
be really good out of the bullpen situationally, and I
00:22:41
think since he knows his role now, that's going to help him a
00:22:43
lot. I've yeah, I really like him in
00:22:45
that spot because of his starting experience too, I
00:22:48
think. Totally.
00:22:49
Lefties that have had starting experience that can get righties
00:22:53
out to. That's.
00:22:55
Right are not so one sided as the.
00:22:57
Yeah. Lefty specialist from the past
00:23:00
or whatever. Exactly.
00:23:01
You're not a platoon pitcher. Yes, yeah, that's right.
00:23:05
So I think that's a good asset for the Royals this year.
00:23:08
And Lynch was a former first round pick.
00:23:10
You don't like to see that guy be a bullpen guy.
00:23:12
But he has a guy that's Alex Lang, who like I mentioned
00:23:16
before, he was a formal first round pick too.
00:23:18
They thought was going to be a starter.
00:23:19
Now he's a bullpen guy. So there's two talented arms
00:23:21
there in the bullpen. And then I mentioned Nick Mears
00:23:25
as well. So I think the bullpen is
00:23:27
stronger this year, which is important.
00:23:29
So the pitching is not going to be the issue.
00:23:32
The issue last year overall was they just didn't score enough
00:23:34
Dang runs. They didn't have enough back.
00:23:37
It's really just the outfield infield did their job.
00:23:41
Is awful. So let's talk about that
00:23:42
infield. Probably the best.
00:23:45
I'm not exaggerating. Probably the best left side of
00:23:48
the infield in the American League gold.
00:23:51
Glove and a Platinum glove. It's hard to get bets.
00:23:53
Like and, and, and honestly, like when we had this preview
00:23:57
last year, we were talking about third base.
00:24:00
We had a lot of discussion if Mike L Garcia was going to have
00:24:02
that job for very long. True story.
00:24:05
We're tossing all sorts of replacements for him.
00:24:07
What can we? Do with them we were.
00:24:11
Convinced Bregman was going to come in and.
00:24:14
Totally. Well, Mike L Garcia, just all he
00:24:17
did was come in last year and flip us the double bird and
00:24:20
said, man, I am legit. I don't know what you're talking
00:24:24
about. Then he went on to the then he
00:24:26
went on to the World Baseball Classic and was like MVP.
00:24:30
I'm the MVP baby. How you like me?
00:24:33
So he did give us the scooble and like, hey, newsflash,
00:24:43
Michael Garcia is the same age as Bobby Witt Junior and he is
00:24:47
not getting nearly the hype and I'm OK with that.
00:24:51
But honestly, like I like the fact that we've got this guy to
00:24:56
anchor third. I hope he I what we need now is
00:25:00
a second season out of him, right, because a lot of guys can
00:25:02
have that just cool and a great season.
00:25:06
But then the maturity comes when like now in my every year, great
00:25:12
season guy and. He's got to make a judge.
00:25:16
He's got the defense for sure. The question was always with the
00:25:19
bat and he answered those questions last year with the
00:25:21
bat. What do you think about him this
00:25:23
year, Dex? Do you like Michael Garcia to
00:25:26
have a repeat year at 3rd? I think he's coming in with as
00:25:30
about as much confidence as he possibly could.
00:25:32
And if the the the hitting's a lot of confidence.
00:25:35
When you see beach balls and and watermelons coming up to the
00:25:38
plate, they tend that hit a little bit better.
00:25:41
I think his approach is better. I think he's taking better at
00:25:43
bats. I think he's swinging at more
00:25:45
strikes instead of balls. He was chasing a lot a couple
00:25:48
years ago, but now he's he's earning some walks, which again,
00:25:51
is not really a strong suit either.
00:25:53
But he's seeing more pitches. Quality at bats are up.
00:25:57
Professional Garcia, Yeah, I like to see professional bats,
00:26:01
multiple pitches, and he's doing it.
00:26:03
So I don't see there's no evidence that he's not going to
00:26:06
have another Goodyear. So, so far, so good.
00:26:09
I'm all in on Garcia. I agree.
00:26:11
And he's he has taken that lead off spot, which last year was a
00:26:16
challenge because we had Jonathan India in it for a lot
00:26:19
of the year who underperformed. So Michael Garcia in that that
00:26:23
that spot I think is pretty good.
00:26:25
Pruitt hitting second and shortstop for the Kansas City
00:26:30
Royals is a guy named Bobby Witt Junior.
00:26:33
I believe you may have heard his of his father.
00:26:37
That's how I know about. Him.
00:26:38
His father. Oh, that.
00:26:40
One Robert. Witt, Robert Witt Yes.
00:26:46
Here's my question to you on Bobby Witt Junior.
00:26:48
I'm not going to ask you some foolish question like, is he
00:26:49
good? I'm going to ask you is can he,
00:26:53
do you think he's going to win the MVP this year?
00:26:56
Well, we talked about that on a previous episode and I, I am, I
00:27:03
am 100% convinced he has the talent to win an MVP for sure.
00:27:07
It's it's really The Who else? Around him.
00:27:11
Well, I think it's who else emerges, right.
00:27:13
I mean, you can't predict an Aaron Judge season like last
00:27:17
season. Maybe you can out of Judge who
00:27:20
knows, but. Well, Cal Rally would have been
00:27:23
Cal Rally anyway. Yeah, true.
00:27:25
I mean, it's, it's taken some almost historic performances to
00:27:30
to over shadow what Bobby Wood junior has done the last couple
00:27:32
years, right? Yeah, right.
00:27:34
You got Cam and Arrows, you got Vlad Guerrero's.
00:27:37
There is a ton of talent in it, AL, it can all put up the
00:27:41
numbers to win an MVP. So Bobby Wood is in those
00:27:44
discussions, I think. I mean, I think.
00:27:45
What he does differently, though, is there's a lot of guys
00:27:49
with bats. I mean the fact that he is the
00:27:53
kind of war he is on defense. I mean if you watch any baseball
00:28:00
the the range he has backwards is insane.
00:28:03
He he makes catches in left field like.
00:28:07
There's no loops in left field, no Blues.
00:28:09
No loops in left field. And then you combine that with
00:28:12
the fact that, I mean, his incredible cannon arm, he hits
00:28:15
the contact, he hits for power, but he's fast so he can steal
00:28:18
bases and that's. Where you differ in combination,
00:28:20
glad. Guerrero and you know some of
00:28:23
those guys that they can't do that.
00:28:26
All those tools, can he put it all together?
00:28:29
Great question. Michael Garcia needs to get on
00:28:32
so he can get some RBI numbers. Vinny batting third needs to
00:28:38
provide some protection, right? I I mean, Bobby Witt was among
00:28:42
the league leaders and runs scored last year, you know,
00:28:45
getting around the bases, he's a phenomenal base runner #1 so.
00:28:48
Fun to watch how fast he is his bases.
00:28:50
Between his his speed, his stolen base, you know,
00:28:54
techniques or whatever, yeah, he he will score runs.
00:28:58
I think the first thing you said there is is Ken Garcia and into
00:29:02
the bottom of the lineup set the table for him.
00:29:05
Oh yeah, to drive runs in. That's right.
00:29:08
That's good. So let's talk about the number 3
00:29:10
hitter, Vinnie Basquitino. Vinnie Basquitino from a Demon
00:29:14
Italia. So.
00:29:17
So he had a career year last year.
00:29:20
He started out just hideous and then caught fire and never
00:29:23
stopped through the rest of the year.
00:29:25
So he and then he had a really good, you know, had a three home
00:29:30
run world baseball classic for Italy.
00:29:33
First time that's ever done. Plus he's just like the best
00:29:36
personality in the clubhouse you could possibly have.
00:29:39
Anytime I see a Vinny clip, I'm listening because he's just
00:29:42
awesome. He and Bobby are roommates and
00:29:47
Spring. Training, which is.
00:29:48
So fun lefty, 28 years old, a little bit of a late bloomer,
00:29:53
but man, he's got some pop. Prue, what do you think about
00:29:57
Vinny's year this year is can he keep the ball rolling?
00:29:59
Can he build on what he did last year?
00:30:01
Maybe raise the average even a little more.
00:30:04
I think so. Certainly capable of it.
00:30:06
Dex mentioned confidence earlier then he's, you know, very
00:30:10
confident in his abilities as a Major League ball player.
00:30:15
Super great personality, very comfortable being on camera and
00:30:19
kind of being the the veteran star that's kind of pouring into
00:30:24
the young guys on the team and. Totally.
00:30:27
He's sort of like a Salvador Perez in some ways.
00:30:32
How's that feel about him? Doesn't.
00:30:33
Comfortable screens leader, comfortable in the leadership
00:30:36
role and kind of the veteran guy that's he knows he's not the
00:30:40
best on the team, doesn't try to be, but he's he's pouring in his
00:30:44
wisdom to the younger group to, yeah, get them that knows.
00:30:48
What he is right, He knows like hey, I'm the power guy, I'm
00:30:51
going to. I didn't notice today, though.
00:30:54
He's getting some good professional at bats.
00:30:55
I always think the professional bats.
00:30:57
He had two walks today, which I love to see out of a first
00:31:01
baseman, a power hitting first baseman because most.
00:31:03
Of the time, they're just. Swinging miss and you know.
00:31:06
Go back. But I don't want it to be so
00:31:08
many walks. Like Joy Votto, who just never
00:31:10
unlocks anybody in is like, I'd rather just walk.
00:31:13
I'll foul off 40 pitches. I want to hit 40 home runs and
00:31:16
have 48 RBIs. I'm not hitting with anybody on
00:31:19
base. I'm walking, walking.
00:31:21
Right, right. Set the table from somebody that
00:31:24
can hit the home run. Right, that's right.
00:31:26
I don't want. To go that.
00:31:28
Way but. No, I, I think, I think the key,
00:31:31
I'm going to be as so bold as to say, I think the key to the
00:31:33
royal season lies in the three hole in Vinny Pasquantino.
00:31:37
If he has a solid year, above average for him, I think they go
00:31:42
to the playoffs. If he doesn't, I think that hole
00:31:45
in the three spot is real tough to fill, especially when you go
00:31:48
to #4 Salvador Perez. So Salvador Perez is a guy who
00:31:54
likes to hit with runners in scoring position, likes to hit
00:31:58
in pressure positions. If there aren't guys in pressure
00:32:01
positions, a lot of times he's swinging from the tips and it's
00:32:05
he's going to have a lot of case, but it is going to turn 36
00:32:10
here in a couple months. Dex, I got to ask you, he's 14
00:32:15
years in the majors as a catcher.
00:32:18
That's a lot of wear and tear on a body.
00:32:22
And it depends on which birth certificate you look at too.
00:32:25
Salvi might be a sacr page 50, we don't really know.
00:32:29
He's in old mid 30s. He might be.
00:32:33
He might. Be he's Waylon record keeping.
00:32:35
I don't know how good it is. That's right.
00:32:38
That's right. Salvi's a beast.
00:32:40
He's already got one home run this year, So what do you think?
00:32:44
We're going to get a clubhouse leader that is just the best and
00:32:48
even if he's only that, the Royals will still benefit from
00:32:51
it. Because here's the deal.
00:32:53
Carter Jensen is here. He is a great hitter and the the
00:32:59
Royals have they have his replacement already.
00:33:01
And The thing is, and even for Vinny, I think Carter Jensen
00:33:05
could, I know we haven't got time yet, but he could probably
00:33:07
fill in for that 3 hole slot. I think that that type of
00:33:10
hitter, he's got that type of approach.
00:33:12
Carter Jensen's phenomenal, I agree.
00:33:14
So I don't worry as much on whether Salvi doesn't need a 45
00:33:18
home run year. It'd be nice if you could crank
00:33:20
about 20 and if you still hang around 2:50, I mean, 25020 and
00:33:26
70 RBIs would be perfect. That's all we need from Salvi.
00:33:30
We don't need it All Star bringing back the MVP talk.
00:33:35
He's not going to have it, man. He's just you don't generally
00:33:39
find the fountain of youth as you keep going as a catcher who
00:33:42
catches as many games as he does.
00:33:44
I just don't see it. So I think it will be downgrade
00:33:46
a little bit from his stats last year, but he's still going to be
00:33:49
good and his values not just in stats.
00:33:52
That's what I was going to ask you, Dex.
00:33:53
So last year you went 236 batting average higher or?
00:33:57
Lower, probably around the same. That's why I said I'd love to
00:34:00
see 250 because, OK, just those extra few hits over the course
00:34:05
of his season, they they change games.
00:34:07
And then thirty home runs higher or lower.
00:34:10
Lower for sure, yeah. And then 100 RBIs higher or
00:34:15
lower? I hope he gets to 70.
00:34:17
OK. I think, I think he'll hit.
00:34:19
I think he'll be in between there.
00:34:21
I'd like to see him hit 90. All right.
00:34:23
I think I think that's probably about right.
00:34:26
A lot of the RBI chances are going to come down to what we
00:34:28
just talked about, right? Absolutely.
00:34:30
Bobby Witt and Vinny get on base.
00:34:33
Salvi will knock him in. He had he would take like 25020
00:34:37
and 75 RBIs from Salvi this year.
00:34:39
You would take that. Yeah, I would. 250 a 100% I
00:34:43
would also take 2:30 with 30 bombs and yeah.
00:34:49
He played 155 games this year. My prediction is he's probably
00:34:53
going to catch about half the games, is what I would think.
00:34:56
I think they're going to start the transition.
00:34:59
He's going to catch about half the games.
00:35:00
He's going to DH about 1/4 of the games he's going.
00:35:03
To play. First base for, you know, tough
00:35:07
lefties or something. Yeah, 20% of the games he's
00:35:11
going to be in. Most of the games, though, it's
00:35:13
hard to keep him on the bench. And like you said, even if he
00:35:15
could provide the leadership, that's a huge deal.
00:35:18
So let's go to #5 which is the guy who's going to be spelling
00:35:21
him a lot. The number one prospect drafted
00:35:23
of the third round and 21. Carter Jensen, He's a
00:35:26
left-handed catcher and he has a.
00:35:32
Left-handed hitting catcher. A left-handed hitting catcher.
00:35:35
Sorry, he. Throws a.
00:35:37
Hitting catcher throws, right? Probably hates say this because
00:35:42
Salvi's gotten worse and worse when it comes to framing every
00:35:44
year according to the data. A better framing catcher
00:35:48
probably than Salvi. Although I will give this this
00:35:51
little ABS baby three for three in his first game and ABS
00:35:56
challenge is making the umpire look a fool.
00:35:59
Including one that was like .3 inches or something and.
00:36:03
He's like, Nope, that's a strike, Yeah.
00:36:06
No, no, no, no. It's so great.
00:36:09
So Carter Jensen hitting in that 5 hole, what's a projection for
00:36:15
him? Can he get the 20 home runs his
00:36:17
rookie year? I'm going to say I'm going to
00:36:21
say not quite. I'm going to say he's got.
00:36:24
One he's got one I'm. Going to say.
00:36:27
March. Through He's already got one in
00:36:29
March 118. 18, I'm going to say 18 and I think I'm hopeful that
00:36:35
I will be pleasantly surprised on his batting average, OK.
00:36:39
I'd like to see him hit for a higher average and and not get
00:36:42
to 20 home runs. OK.
00:36:44
Dex over under 20 homers I. Think he's going to come down to
00:36:48
plate appearances and how much Salvy refuses to come out and
00:36:52
whether they they try and spell them.
00:36:54
But they had him at DH. So The thing is I like him there
00:36:57
and he's he's catching or DH. He should play all the time.
00:37:01
If he plays all the time, easy 25.
00:37:03
I think he's going to hit 80% of the games is my guess.
00:37:06
I do, too. I think he's going to have 25
00:37:08
homers. I think he's going to bat a high
00:37:12
average, so 280. I think he's going to be.
00:37:16
He's a good hitter, man. You look at his minor league
00:37:18
stats, he's he's legit man. Yeah, didn't factor in the the.
00:37:21
Fences are in the Kansas City. Baby the fences.
00:37:23
Are in fences are in we're. Not good not factor that, but if
00:37:28
he's hitting 280, he's going to be hitting every day and that
00:37:31
gets in to your point more that's true.
00:37:34
Fences in Salvi may hit eighty home runs this this year.
00:37:38
Who knows? Exciting to watch.
00:37:40
Carter Jensen. It's going to be a fun year to
00:37:42
watch him. He's only 22 years old.
00:37:44
So there's only as of the taping of this episode, only been one
00:37:48
home game this year and they said there was three home runs
00:37:52
hit and they said all three of them would have been out of the
00:37:55
old ballpark dimensions too. So that's right.
00:37:58
New fences haven't haven't factored yet.
00:38:00
But not yet. But they will.
00:38:02
They will not yet in the 6th hole.
00:38:06
This is a big year for this guy. Jonathan India traded from
00:38:10
Cincinnati. He was a rookie of the year, had
00:38:13
all kinds of potential, first round draft pick #5 overall last
00:38:17
year was a big What happens with Jonathan India?
00:38:22
They've moved him down in the lineup.
00:38:24
He's down the 6th hole. He wasn't the one hole.
00:38:25
What do you think? That might help him.
00:38:28
So I think when your approach has to change where you are in
00:38:30
the lineup, it's just that's how baseball works.
00:38:32
I think he might have put a little too much pressure on
00:38:34
himself at the top because he I don't believe he's bad in
00:38:37
leadoff or Cincinnati. I don't remember that.
00:38:40
I thought he was in the the two. He was in the middle of the
00:38:42
lineup, but I don't think he's bleed off.
00:38:45
So I think he might be more comfortable being farther down.
00:38:48
Again, I like the fact that you could put him 6.
00:38:50
Yeah, because the other five guys above them are better.
00:38:53
So that's always nice. So in that there's less
00:38:55
pressure, I think he can do. He's got pop.
00:38:58
I mean, he's he's fast, he's got some pops.
00:39:00
So Jonathan India is still a good hitter.
00:39:02
Yeah. I just think his his approach
00:39:04
must have changed or something. He just didn't.
00:39:05
He didn't look right last year, man.
00:39:07
Very. Aggressive last year, like to
00:39:10
his detriment. I felt like he got himself in
00:39:13
the hole a lot being aggressive early and then it was like it
00:39:16
totally changed his approach and your defensive.
00:39:19
And you know, the other thing that hurt him is he was coming
00:39:23
from Cincinnati, which is a bit of a bandbox, and he's in Coffin
00:39:29
Stadium, which was huge. I think the moving in of the
00:39:32
fences is going to benefit him a lot, I think Jonathan.
00:39:36
Indy is 1. Of those guys who those who that
00:39:38
little bit of a difference is a big deal for some guys.
00:39:41
And I think he's one of those guys that had a lot of warning
00:39:43
check power last year and that probably changed his approach.
00:39:46
So they've got him hitting sixth.
00:39:48
He's off to a bit of a slow start.
00:39:50
I think he's won for 11 start of the year.
00:39:51
But 7 hole another guy who underperformed last year.
00:39:56
The bottom of this line up is stacked with potential India
00:40:01
rookie of the year Caglione, who's supposed to be rookie of
00:40:07
the year. What do you think about him
00:40:09
prove going to see Caglione in the seven hole?
00:40:13
He's 23 years old. First round draft pick.
00:40:16
He hits the ball about 400 miles an hour when he hits it.
00:40:19
Yeah, this is how do. You think he's going to do this
00:40:22
year? A guy like like Jack that has so
00:40:25
much raw power, I think moving the fences in tremendously helps
00:40:30
him. He doesn't need the help.
00:40:32
But even this is now long fly balls or home runs.
00:40:36
That's right. And he's going to hit a lot of
00:40:38
towering fly balls that just carry and carry and carry and
00:40:42
and wind up right over the fence.
00:40:44
So it wouldn't shock me if if he gets to 25 before Carter Jensen.
00:40:51
And I'm hoping he just keeps on going and I'd love to see him at
00:40:55
30 home runs. If you look at this lineup, Wit
00:40:58
has the ability to hit over 20 homers.
00:41:00
Vinny has the ability, Perez has the ability, Jensen has the
00:41:03
ability, Caglion has the ability.
00:41:06
It's a lot of 20 home run hitters potentially right there
00:41:08
decks. Does Caglion have, does he have
00:41:12
30 this year over or under? 30 homers for Gaglione.
00:41:17
I think he's he's playing time too, right?
00:41:19
I mean he didn't even play the first game and against lefties,
00:41:22
I don't know if they're going to platoon them mean we have 3
00:41:26
outfielders are playing that were not named Jack Gaglione in
00:41:28
the first game. So I think if they platoon them,
00:41:31
it's going to be hard to get those numbers.
00:41:34
But if he earns his way into more at bats and if again, we're
00:41:40
going to get to these guys, but if our bottom of the order
00:41:42
outfielders don't produce, he'll get more at bats.
00:41:45
And with more at bats, more opportunity, more opportunity.
00:41:48
Like Fruit was saying high fly balls for this guy, they go like
00:41:52
400 feet. So that's always helpful.
00:41:54
And that's going to be out this year at Royal Stadium.
00:41:57
So I think Jack is totally dependent on the bats and
00:42:02
hopefully he takes a better approach.
00:42:04
Last year he kind of had some really, really, really bad luck
00:42:07
on Babbitt. And so the balls he hit were
00:42:09
lasers and tearing the cover off, but just going right into
00:42:12
gloves and can't do anything about that, that's a lot of bad
00:42:16
luck. So I think the luck, we'll have
00:42:18
to switch just to go back to the medium.
00:42:20
And so I think that'll help. I just don't know.
00:42:22
It's all played appearance for him.
00:42:23
No, you're right. And, and he started out and he's
00:42:26
they've started out saying, hey, you're going to play against
00:42:28
varieties. We'll see if that continues.
00:42:30
But it's worked so far. He's 2 for seven.
00:42:32
So he's hitting 286. That's a much better start to
00:42:35
the year. Just not getting mentally in the
00:42:38
negative space. I think they'll do worlds.
00:42:40
I think only only two strikeouts I think so far did I see he's
00:42:44
not. A platoon guy, I don't know Jack
00:42:48
Jack Caglion to be a. Platoon guy.
00:42:49
That's right, two strikeouts so far.
00:42:51
And yes I agree, I don't think he should be a platoon guy.
00:42:53
I wonder if this is just a mental thing where it's like,
00:42:56
hey, let's show you that you can hit the heck out of the ball and
00:42:59
then start working you in against some lefties so you get
00:43:01
some confidence. That's what I'm hoping that's
00:43:03
going to be in the 8 hole. A guy who I don't really know
00:43:08
what to think about, we got in the offseason, Isaac Collins is
00:43:12
the guy that they've got in left field.
00:43:15
So I think that you were mentioning that Isaac Collins,
00:43:18
was he second in Rookie of the Year voting did.
00:43:21
You think that 4th or 5th, but he was mentioned in.
00:43:25
So he was, he was. He was definitely one of the
00:43:27
better rookies last year, which is kind of surprising they
00:43:31
traded him. But at the same time, I don't
00:43:34
know. He doesn't have like a super
00:43:36
high ceiling is what I was reading up on him like he has a
00:43:39
pretty high floor, but not a high ceiling.
00:43:41
So he's just he's going to be a quality Major League player.
00:43:46
Nothing wrong with that man, because holy bejesus, we would
00:43:48
have taken that last year like our atrocious and so he is
00:43:53
already better than what we had last year.
00:43:56
So I like him and like I said, he's net positive, right.
00:44:00
So we're already moving up just by having him in the lineup and
00:44:03
the the only thing we've only seen a little bit, right, last
00:44:07
year's it, there's not a long track record to pull.
00:44:09
From like. Oh, he's done this for years, So
00:44:12
it's not like a Benintendi that was kind of struggle like Austin
00:44:16
and struggle boss and then now he's really good again.
00:44:19
I don't know what Colin's going to be.
00:44:20
Who knows? So this is going to be a we all
00:44:22
get to learn together this year and see how it'll do in Kaufman
00:44:25
with this lineup on this team. Yeah, that's right.
00:44:28
So last year he started 100 games for the Brewers.
00:44:32
He had he had nine home runs and he had sixteen stolen bases.
00:44:40
So in 100 games. So to your point, like it
00:44:44
doesn't like he's like a wowing guy, but he he's definitely
00:44:47
probably an above average outfielder and he definitely
00:44:50
above what we were putting in in left field last year.
00:44:54
What was his batting average? His batting average was 263.
00:45:00
On base. His on base was 368.
00:45:04
There we go. There you go.
00:45:05
Take some pitches. I liked it.
00:45:06
So he definitely is a guy who does take more, more pitches
00:45:11
than what we've had in a while. And he had a home run today.
00:45:15
So, you know, there's that's a, that's a good start for him.
00:45:18
He'll be it. He's an interesting one.
00:45:19
And then in center, the old, I cannot believe this guy has been
00:45:23
around as long as he has. Kyle Isbell is like 8th year or
00:45:26
something like that. 6th, 7th year starting in the yeah, in
00:45:30
the OR with the organization. And he had a home run today.
00:45:35
And Kyle Isbell's coming off of his best hitting season.
00:45:40
He's not. Saying much?
00:45:41
He's not saying much, but he is a guy that you put in there
00:45:47
totally for defense in center field because he's a vacuum and
00:45:52
if you can get anything out of him from a bat standpoint,
00:45:56
especially in the 9 hole. So for perspective, last year
00:46:00
the best hitting season was 255. But hey, if Kyle Isabel hits 2.
00:46:06
.5. And the nine if he hits 255 this
00:46:09
year in the 9 hole, the Royals are going to the World Series
00:46:12
like that is like that would be insane given given his defense.
00:46:18
I want to get you guys this quick take on we're running
00:46:21
along. Actually started the first game
00:46:23
that wasn't even mentioned in the lineup.
00:46:24
Lane, Thomas. So Lane.
00:46:26
Well, that one too, but the other?
00:46:28
So there are a couple other guys I'm going to, I'm going to ask
00:46:30
you about the bench here. There's four guys on the bench,
00:46:32
2 who actually started on opening day.
00:46:35
And those two are outfielders. Lane Thomas, who is a free agent
00:46:38
that they signed from Cleveland last year.
00:46:40
He's been six years in the majors.
00:46:42
He's 30 years old, a right-handed outfielder.
00:46:47
What do we think about Lane Thomas Dex?
00:46:50
Guinea better than what we had, and I think he's a high floor,
00:46:54
not much of A ceiling. Lane Thomas.
00:46:56
So the Nationals, they needed talent like anything.
00:47:00
They're not going to get rid of it.
00:47:01
But they also had James Wood, they got Dylan Cruz, they got
00:47:04
Dylan Lyle, right? They didn't need him.
00:47:06
So he was absolutely expendable for the Nationals and the Royals
00:47:09
needed anything. And competition's good.
00:47:12
I mean, we have no comp. You can just kind of have crap
00:47:16
roll out every single time. Yeah.
00:47:18
So I like the fact that he's a good piece.
00:47:20
He's a he plays good defense. He he's not gonna wow you.
00:47:23
He's not gonna be like 320. He's not there's not any
00:47:26
category. He really like jumps off the
00:47:28
page, right. But it's pretty good.
00:47:30
He's pretty good. If he's in the lineup, you're
00:47:31
like, oh man, Lane Thomas is playing today.
00:47:33
So we're throwing the game in today, right?
00:47:36
You're exactly right. What you said earlier like we
00:47:39
don't need All Stars out there, we need just average.
00:47:43
We got All Stars on the infield, yes.
00:47:45
You need a one and a. Half or A2?
00:47:47
War guy in the outfield. You need somebody they can hit
00:47:50
their weight. Yeah.
00:47:51
Somebody that can at least hit their weight playing left field.
00:47:54
That's right. That's right.
00:47:56
Let Isbell and whoever out in in center and right take care of
00:48:02
their spots. But yeah, you just you can't
00:48:05
have a just giant black hole in the 789 spot in your lineup.
00:48:11
Yeah. And expect to win.
00:48:13
It's an upgrade. I think both these guys, Collins
00:48:15
and Thomas, no matter how much they platoon and I think they're
00:48:19
definitely an upgrade in that spot.
00:48:21
I think, I think, I think Isabel Thomas Collins and then this
00:48:27
last guy will all kind of rotate and Keb, Leon, Starling Marte,
00:48:33
the Wiley veteran coming in at 37 years old.
00:48:37
And we talked last week, Dex, you're saying there's he's at
00:48:40
the end of the rope, but he's still got a little something in
00:48:43
the tank. We think.
00:48:44
How do you think he does this year and his in the role they're
00:48:47
going to have him play? So the Marte parte of old a
00:48:52
little bit different, right? Nice.
00:48:53
So a few walkers rolling in with tennis balls on the front,
00:48:57
totally. And they're becoming to the
00:48:58
Marte Parte now. It's not going to be an everyday
00:49:00
event where he's hitting on the fountains, that's right.
00:49:03
But he still has a little tank, man.
00:49:06
There's a little gas in there still.
00:49:07
Like you haven't piping it all out yet.
00:49:10
And like I said, it is kind of looking at the backside of the
00:49:12
sun as it sets. No more than a lot of takers for
00:49:15
Starling Marte. Between injury risk and age and
00:49:19
just production, it's all gone down.
00:49:21
But man, if I recall, he beats the bejesus out of lefty.
00:49:25
So if he's our just platoon guy against lefties in the outfield,
00:49:29
he can still run down a ball. And he's not the kind of he was
00:49:33
mentioned for MVP candidacy back in the day.
00:49:35
Oh yeah, and Andrew McCutcheon and him were center field and
00:49:39
right field that nothing dropped out there and those guys were
00:49:43
both living. There's a ton of double S and
00:49:44
triples all the time. So he's not that.
00:49:47
But again, I think from the leadership perspective, he's
00:49:49
been there. He's been in the playoffs, he's
00:49:50
been around a long time. He can impart some knowledge on
00:49:53
these young kids. I like it for that, too.
00:49:56
And there's nothing wrong with having veteran presence in all
00:49:59
great teams have great veteran leadership in the locker room.
00:50:02
So I like having him there, especially knowing he's only a
00:50:05
bit player. I like it even more.
00:50:07
Yeah, I don't have to count on him.
00:50:09
If he had to be vertical for 155 games, no chance talking about
00:50:14
it. But to know your role and know
00:50:16
you only need to play the games we have you in pinch hit, come
00:50:20
out in a spot. I love it.
00:50:23
I kind of like. I think it's a good signing.
00:50:24
I mean, even at his age last year, he did only start 74 games
00:50:28
for the Mets, but he hit 270. He hit nine home runs and 74
00:50:35
games, you know, and that that equates to, you know, mid teens,
00:50:42
right? Yeah, over a season.
00:50:44
So, you know, for that age, I'll take it.
00:50:47
And he's we're not going to ask him to carry a lot, right?
00:50:50
He's probably an every fifth day kind of guy that they have.
00:50:53
And then probably pinch hitting off the bench with the veteran
00:50:56
approach I think is going to be helpful too.
00:50:59
Well, like you, like you mentioned, not for the Royals,
00:51:01
but for another team that we talked about or maybe several
00:51:05
teams, it sounds like the Royals are kind of embracing the
00:51:09
platoon mindset for right field. Pick up a guy that murders
00:51:13
lefties and you've already got Caglione that we know is capable
00:51:18
of murdering any pitcher. And and he's a young guy and
00:51:22
he's struggled a little bit last year.
00:51:23
So yeah, this takes the pressure off and it's like, hey, we're
00:51:27
going to start Marte as long as he can go.
00:51:30
And when his 37 year old self breaks down.
00:51:34
Totally. Then we'll have our guy that can
00:51:36
step in every day, absolutely who's right there behind him and
00:51:41
learning how to let hit lefties and all that.
00:51:43
So it seems like a good move to me.
00:51:46
He brings the leadership like you mentioned, Dex and yeah,
00:51:51
it's it's going to be a good fit, I think.
00:51:53
It could like be my remember my my dogs back in the day and
00:51:57
Rosie and Willie and Willie or Tasha actually.
00:52:00
So Tasha just wouldn't let Rosie die ever.
00:52:03
Would never let her die. She's ready to go so often.
00:52:07
So maybe the young guys, Jack Caglio will just keep poking
00:52:09
Marte, keep him alive a little bit longer and he probably
00:52:12
should be maybe a little more productive than he.
00:52:14
Should get him some. Just running some circles around
00:52:17
him like you still got it I. Mean he is the He is officially
00:52:22
the oldest guy on the roster this year by a year by a year.
00:52:27
Next would be Seth Lugo and then coming in 3rd is Salvador Perez.
00:52:33
So the other two guys that are coming off the bench won't talk
00:52:36
a lot about yes, the other two guys we will talk a lot about
00:52:41
coming off the bench. Nick Lofton kind of in a make or
00:52:44
break year. I think for him he's going to be
00:52:47
playing a utility role. Always been a guy who it's
00:52:50
really for high average AAA the. Miners.
00:52:54
And then he gets to the majors and he doesn't so.
00:52:57
He's not. He's not a pop guy, so he needs
00:53:00
to hit for average. So we'll see how he does.
00:53:02
And then Tyler Tolbert, who he is just a pinch runner.
00:53:08
Let's be honest, he's a pinch runner who probably will get
00:53:12
sent down when Michael Massey comes off of the injured list.
00:53:15
Michael Massey has a strained calf and was actually having a
00:53:18
pretty darn good spring till he got hurt.
00:53:23
So I think he probably is the guy that that takes his spot.
00:53:26
But Tolbert will be up and down, no doubt about it.
00:53:28
He's still got two options and he will be up and down as the
00:53:31
season goes and they'll probably bring him up later as the as the
00:53:33
rosters expand. Couple guys I wanted to mention
00:53:36
to keep an eye on in the minors. We had a little bit in terms of
00:53:43
AAA, we had a little bit of John Rave siding.
00:53:45
He's the one that's kind of in a make or break year.
00:53:47
He came up and down a little bit last year.
00:53:49
We'll see if he gets another crack this year.
00:53:51
There's a really interesting guy the Royals got in the offseason
00:53:55
who was a former and first round draft pick, Cameron Meisner, an
00:53:58
outfielder. He's 28 years old.
00:53:59
He's never really shown. He's not been a bust, but he's
00:54:03
never really shown that much and so they've taken a crack at him
00:54:09
and he's only been in the majors for a couple months in total.
00:54:13
He's always been kind of, you know, on the edge.
00:54:16
So we'll see how he does at AAA this year.
00:54:19
A lot of great catching talent, as we mentioned before, in the
00:54:25
minors. We have a.
00:54:26
Would you say we have a plethora of catching talent in the minors
00:54:32
for it? Yeah, I I think I think we do.
00:54:36
So it could be interesting when it comes trade time to you've
00:54:39
got Blake Mitchell down there. You have Ramon Ramirez, who is a
00:54:43
really great hitting catcher. They also picked up a guy in the
00:54:49
offseason, Eli Marrero, a free agent from Boston, who had a
00:54:53
crazy spring, So lots of catching talent was.
00:54:58
It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.
00:54:59
And there's some veteran guys down there too who almost made
00:55:03
the team. Josh Rojas name you may have
00:55:07
heard originally with Houston, a lefty, He's 31.
00:55:10
Brandon Drury may remember Brandon Drury, he's 33 years
00:55:15
old, had a pretty good spring. A guy named Kevin Newman, 32
00:55:19
years old. Newman.
00:55:21
Newman was a. Newman.
00:55:23
First Newman, first former first rounder from Pittsburgh.
00:55:29
So a lot of guys like that who could come up.
00:55:31
And then you got a couple guys. Drew Waters is still down there.
00:55:34
He cleared waivers, the perpetual quadruple a guy.
00:55:38
And then Gavin Cross guy who was a first round pick for the
00:55:41
Royals, had a good spring, probably needs a little more
00:55:44
seasoning. That'll be fun to watch him too.
00:55:46
So and then the pitchers we talked about, of course.
00:55:48
So they've got some depth. It's the first time that the
00:55:51
Royals have had some depth in the miners.
00:55:53
They had not had that in many years.
00:55:55
It positions them well. Even if they don't have a good
00:55:58
year, it positions them well. They can build on that.
00:56:01
They can build on that depth and that that talent, the miners.
00:56:03
And if they do make a run, they've got some trade pieces,
00:56:06
some guys that could potentially, you know, bring
00:56:09
something in a trade. So it should be interesting.
00:56:11
So I want to put you guys to the test.
00:56:12
Last question before we end the show, Royals final record this
00:56:17
year we're going to go on record.
00:56:19
We're going to start with you Dex.
00:56:21
What do you think? 162 games.
00:56:23
So your total should end up equaling 162.
00:56:27
The 2 numbers you spit out should equal 162.
00:56:34
All right. Way shape out your calculator.
00:56:37
Carry the one this year, All right.
00:56:40
I think with the pitching and kind of the the way the division
00:56:44
is shaping up. So I don't think that the White
00:56:46
Sox are going to win too many games.
00:56:48
I think the Twins probably aren't going to win too many
00:56:50
games. I think they'll be the bottom 2.
00:56:52
And the other three teams, Cleveland, Detroit and Kansas
00:56:54
City are the first, second or third in some order they're in.
00:56:58
But if everybody goes and plays how we think they can play with
00:57:01
the talent they have and the starting rotation, the bullpen
00:57:03
and the lineup and with the depth behind them and playing in
00:57:06
the platoons class we have, I like them to win 90 games.
00:57:10
So 90 and 72 is very reasonable and realistic to me.
00:57:14
And I don't see them as a 500 team, right?
00:57:17
And they don't look like an 81 and 81 roster.
00:57:19
This looks like a team that can take those nine extra games that
00:57:22
maybe they couldn't have a couple years ago and maybe not
00:57:24
last year either. But I think 90 wins is, I think
00:57:27
they can win the division with 90 with that.
00:57:30
If they don't, if Detroit or Cleveland has a really good
00:57:33
year, somehow I still think they'll make the playoffs with.
00:57:35
That that's good. So 90 and 72 Prue.
00:57:38
I was so dex and I didn't talk before the game, but I I in my
00:57:43
head I had 88, so 88.7. You hit my number.
00:57:48
We have the same #II8874. Yeah, I, I like them.
00:57:53
Could they get to 90? Absolutely.
00:57:56
Could they get to 85? Maybe.
00:57:59
So I, I think it's somewhere in between there. 88 is what I
00:58:02
like, a lot of things have to go right for them to get to 92 or
00:58:07
something, but I I think 88's very achievable.
00:58:10
Yeah, I think to win the division you're going to need 90
00:58:12
though, and we predict them to win the division, so I had to
00:58:15
get to 90. Yeah, it's going to be right
00:58:17
there. Like you said, there's three
00:58:18
teams that probably can compete for between 86 and 92 wins and
00:58:23
it'll it could be a toss up for any of those 3.
00:58:26
Well, just for just for poops and giggles, I'm going to take
00:58:30
89, then I'll split the middle. We'll go 89 wins.
00:58:35
And so there's no way I can win this bet unless I hit 89 because
00:58:40
any other way you guys are closer.
00:58:42
You guys just price is right. I'll take a dollar.
00:58:45
I'll take a dollar. Right.
00:58:48
Awesome. Well, great, great times.
00:58:50
Can't wait to talk about this team as the season progresses,
00:58:52
and we definitely will in the dog days of summer when they're
00:58:54
in a whole lot to talk about. We'll be talking some Royals
00:58:56
baseball and hopefully we're talking about a competitive
00:58:59
team. All right, Dex, take us home.
00:59:03
All right, so shrewdness. You've heard our entire Kansas
00:59:07
City Royals preview. Hope you like that.
00:59:10
Send it off to some friends if they are Royals fans or just
00:59:12
baseball fans that need to know about competition in their
00:59:15
division. So if they're other AOL Central
00:59:17
fans, send it off to them. Let them know what's good, what
00:59:20
they're dealing with this year at the Royals.
00:59:22
And as we keep progressing, looking forward to seeing how
00:59:24
our young guys do on this team. Hopefully the pitching stays
00:59:28
vertical. Our bullpen is going to be
00:59:31
critically important to hold these leads late in the game.
00:59:33
And so that is what we'll be looking for for the Royals this
00:59:36
season and hopefully en route to a division championship, another
00:59:40
playoff appearance and hopefully a deep run where they can maybe
00:59:44
do a parade downtown Kansas City.
00:59:48
That'd be a lot of parade. Maybe.
00:59:50
So that is going to wrap it up for this Kansas City Royals
00:59:53
preview episode. So until next week.
00:59:56
Stay. Shrewd.
00:59:57
Stay shrewd to everybody.